->''All our times have come''->''Here but now they're gone''->''Seasons don't fear the reaper''->''Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain''->''We can be like they are...''-->-- "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"

Blue Öyster Cult is an American HardRock[=/=]HeavyMetal band. Their manager, Sandy Pearlman, formed the group as Soft White Underbelly in 1967. The group cut its teeth playing CountryMusic in biker bars before, at Pearlman's urging, their musical style shifted in a harder, psychedelic direction inspired by Music/BlackSabbath. After some trials and tribulations, including the departure of lead singer Les Braunstein and his replacement with acoustic engineer Eric Bloom, the band eventually took the name Blue Öyster Cult [[HeavyMetalUmlaut (with a trope-making ümlaut over the "O")]] and released their self-titled debut album under Creator/ColumbiaRecords in 1972. The original lineup consisted of lead singer/guitarist Eric Bloom, lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, guitarist/keyboardist Allen Lanier, and drummer Albert and bassist Joe Bouchard.

BÖC reached mainstream success in 1976 with the release of their first platinum album, ''Music/AgentsOfFortune'', and its hit single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," followed by ''Music/{{Spectres}}'' and the FM hit "Franchise/{{Godzilla}}".

In 1981, BÖC recorded ''Fire of Unknown Origin''. The band had written several songs on this platinum album for the upcoming animated film ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'', but the producers chose "Veteran of the Psychic Wars," which wasn't done with the movie in mind. Albert Bouchard left the band after ''Fire''.

Between 1985 and 1987, Allen Lanier and Joe Bouchard quit the band, leaving Eric Bloom and Don Roeser as the only original members. The band took 1987 off, Lanier returned, and they resumed touring with Jon Rogers and Ron Riddle. The band has released several studio albums since then, but none since 2001's ''Curse of the Hidden Mirror'', and are now without a record deal. Their motto since the late '90s has been "On Tour Forever!", and they live up to it, continuously touring at fairs, clubs, festivals, casinos, and auditoriums across North America and Europe (often hitting the same venue more than once a year).

Founder member Allen Lanier sadly died in August 2013 after a long illness, which had already necessitated his retirement. His last public appearance with the group was at the fortieth anniversary celebration in December 2012. Long-standing manager and band associate Sandy Pearlman, who was responsible for forming and naming the group, and production work on early LP's, as well as naming Buck Dharma and contributing most of the ''Imaginos'' cycle of lyrics, died in July 2016.

* AlbumTitleDrop: The album ''Agents of Fortune'' is named after a lyric from the included song "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)".* AlienGeometries: The LP sleeves for ''Blue Öyster Cult'' and ''Tyranny and Mutation''.* AnachronicOrder: ''Imaginos'' is not presented according to the internal chronology of the album's storyline due to ExecutiveMeddling. The album's story, which contains TimeTravel, shapeshifting, the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, and a number of other supernatural elements, would be confusing enough without the disjointed chronology; the meddling pushed it firmly into MindScrew territory. A possible sequence of the album's events is presented under the ExecutiveMeddling entry.* ApocalypseHow: "Sole Survivor"--unexplained, but planetary human extinction level. * AuthorAppeal: Joe Bouchard wrote a ''lot'' of songs about vampires.** Much of the lyrics, as well as the band's name, are inspired by the works of Creator/HPLovecraft.* BSide:-->''Time everlasting/Time to play B-sides...'' ('''"Burnin' For You"''')* BadassBeard: Bloom.* BigApplesauce: The band are mainly from, and based in, New York.* TheCameo: Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma make a cameo appearance at the end of ''The Stoned Age'' (a movie where one of the main characters was a hardcore BÖC fan), selling bootleg BÖC merchandise.** Fun fact: originally all the Blue Öyster Cult references in the movie were going to be references to Music/TheWho. The Who refused to allow their names or music to be featured in the movie due to its content (teenagers getting drunk and having sex), so all Who references became Blue Öyster Cult references, complete with the ending cameo.* CanonDiscontinuity: As a result of being critical and commercial failures, ''The Revölution By Night'' and ''Club Ninja'' (though "Perfect Water" still made it onto the group's 2002 live release ''A Long Day's Night''). Nothing from ''Imaginos'' EVER makes it into their live shows, though.* CardCarryingVillain: The narrator of "Career of Evil".* CatchPhrase: "On your feet...or on your knees! From New York City--the amazing BLUE ÖYSTER CULT!"* CatholicSchoolGirlsRule: The otherwise-impenetrable video for "Joan Crawford", in which quite a lot of the said Catholic Schoolgirls get up to shenanigans, aided and abetted by Allen Lanier looking ''extremely'' seedy.** "Unknown Tongues" (off ''Cultösaurus Erectus''), in which a devout Catholic schoolgirl called Margaret explores glossolalia and the mysteries of the holy Stigmata. (i.e., the voices in her head tell her to self-harm with a razor blade).* ChangedForTheVideo: The LP version of "The Marshall Plan" (about a hopeless dreamer with minimal musical talent trying to make it big) uses the heavy rock cliché of the opening bars of Music/DeepPurple's "Smoke on the Water" from ''{{Music/Machine Head|Album}}''. It also homages an American TV rock show and its presenter Don Kirschner. Strangely enough, the video version omits both these items; it has been suggested so as to avoid paying royalties. The story told in the video still just about makes sense, but is disjointed without the jokes implicit in a hopeless loser who can only think to rehash "SOTW" and who dreams of appearing on what is assumed to be a very cheesy, corny, mainstream TV show.* CityShoutOuts: "Atlanta, Georgia!", "Poughkeepsie, New York!"** Their live cover version of Music/TheAnimals' ''We Gotta Get Out Of This Place'' was recorded in Newcastle, England: {{Homage}} to the home town of Eric Burdon and Alan Price, and a [[CityShoutOuts City Shout-Out]] by inference.* ConceptAlbum: ''Imaginos''.** And the whole thing was supposed to be an attempt at a Concept Band.* ContinuityNod: Some of the fossils on the ''Cultösaurus Erectus'' cover are mentioned as having been found in Oaxaca and the Stalk Forrest, which are names of two early versions of the band.* CoverVersion: several on the live albums; their choices of covers give a pretty good idea of who their main influences were. ''On Your Feet Or On Your Knees'' includes Music/TheYardbirds' "I Ain't Got You" from ''Music/FiveLiveYardbirds'', while ''Some Enchanted Evening'' features Music/TheAnimals' "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" and the Music/MC5's ''Music/KickOutTheJams'', while ''Extraterrestrial Live'' features a cover of "Roadhouse Blues" from ''Music/LAWoman'' by Music/TheDoors, with Robbie Krieger himself guesting on guitar. "St. Cecilia", the group's originally unreleased album as the Stalk-Forrest Group, included a cover of Bobby Freeman's "Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes".* DealWithTheDevil: The live version of "7 Screaming Diz-Busters" includes an interlude where Eric Bloom describes how [[LouisCypher a slick-looking man in a shark-skin suit]] gave him a contract to sign in blood, and the very next day CBS Records called him up to offer the band a record deal.** Note: that was the live version that appears as a bonus track on the remastered ''Tyranny and Mutation'' CD. This wasn't on the live version of the original live album ''On Your Feet Or On Your Knees''.* DeusExMachina: "Sole Survivor", averted. An alien starship lands to rescue the sole human survivor of an Earth apocalypse, but he refused the rescue:-->They beckoned him inside-->But only man, he would not ride-->Instead he found a place to hide-->For he's the sole survivor* DontFearTheReaper: {{Trope Namer|s}}.* DownerEnding: "Veteran of the Psychic Wars", where the protagonist lies spent and defeated as he [[PyrrhicVictory receives the news of victory]].-->''You see me now a veteran\\Of a thousand psychic wars\\My energy is spent at last and my armor is destroyed\\I have used up all my weapons and I'm helpless and bereaved\\Wounds are all I'm made of\\Did I hear you say that this is victory?''* DragonLady: Their song provides the page quote.* [[DrugsAreBad Drugs Can Be Bad For Your Health]]: "Then Came the Last Days of May", "Tenderloin", "Hungry Boys".* DungeonMastersGirlfriend: Allen Lanier's girlfriend Music/PattiSmith, who later achieved fame as a solo artist, wrote several songs for the group's early albums and provided backing vocals on the ''Music/AgentsOfFortune'' track "The Revenge of Vera Gemini".* DyingCandle: ''Don't Fear the Reaper'', where the last verse heralding the arrival of Death has the lines: -->''The door burst open, and a wind appeared;''--> ''The candle blew and then dissappeared;''-->''The curtains flew and then He appeared,''--> ''Saying "Don't be afraid"''* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''St. Cecilia'' is almost straight country music with some hard rock influences. ''Blue Öyster Cult'' is closer to heavy metal, but still has strong country influences on several tracks, particularly "I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep" and "Redeemed".* EldritchAbomination: A favorite topic of the group, found in "Les Invisibles", "Harvest Moon", "The Old Gods Return", and numerous other songs.* EpicRocking: Especially prominent on ''Tyranny and Mutation''.** The live ''On Your Feet or On Your Knees'' has extended versions of several songs. ''Live 1976'' has a version of "Buck's Boogie" that exceeds nineteen minutes in length, and a version of "This Ain't the Summer of Love" (which was a case of MinisculeRocking on the original album, being barely over two minutes) that extends to almost twelve.* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: ''Cultösaurus Erectus''.* EvilLaugh: [[Literature/TheElricSaga Stormbringer]] at the end of "Black Blade".* ExtraExtraReadAllAboutIt: "Morning Final" on the ''Agents of Fortune'' album. The track ends on a paperboy calling the murder investigation in classic ''Extra! Extra! Read all about it!'' form.* GasStationOfDoom: Referenced in the video of "Take Me Away", where the young couple in the car get the first inkling something is not right; the band logo of the hooked cross painted on the petrol station wall is as big a clue as the sinister proprietor.* GratuitousJapanese: The intermission of "Godzilla" has a Japanese newscaster talking about the beast's rampage in Tokyo and alerting listeners to run for shelter immediately. During live shows, Eric Bloom recites this part.* GreatBallsOfFire: The BÖC pioneered the use of lasers onstage to enhance a performance. This was in 1975, some years before MTV, in an age where most groups stuck to music only. The band's laser equipment was cumbersome and frequently unreliable, but when it worked, it was spectacular. It even provoked a Congressional investigation into how safe lasers were as a form of entertainment. * GreatestHitsAlbum: 1998's ''Blue Öyster Cult: Super Hits''.** The earlier, 2-CD ''Workshop of the Telescopes'' compilation.** ''Cult Classic'' is an unusual example; rather than just collecting the group's best songs, they went back into the studio and re-recorded them from scratch.* HeavyMetalUmlaut: The {{Trope Maker|s}}, and possibly the UrExample.* HeavyMeta: "Cities on Flame with Rock & Roll", "R. U. Ready 2 Rock"', "Before the Kiss, a Redcap", and "The Marshall Plan" (which includes a spoken word interlude by Don Kirschner). They also did a cover of ''Music/KickOutTheJams'', and in a way "Heavy Metal: The Black and Silver" counts as well.* HeavyMithril: Creator/MichaelMoorcock wrote several songs for the group in the early '80s, including "Black Blade", a heavy metal summary of Literature/TheElricSaga.** As mentioned above, much of ''Fire of Unknown Origin'' was written with the intent of being a soundtrack for the film ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal''. The song "Vengeance (The Pact)" is explicitly based on Taarna's story.** "The Golden Age of Leather", an operatic piece about a gang of bikers who ride out into the desert and fight to the death after an all-night [[HookersAndBlow orgy and meth party]], because they've realized they've grown too old to rock anymore.** "X-Ray Eyes" is based on the film ''The Man With The X-Ray Eyes'', and name-drops Ray Milland in the lyrics.** "Nosferatu" summarizes the plot of the [[Film/{{Nosferatu}} classic silent film of that name]].* HumanoidAbomination: Imaginos/Desdinova from ''Imaginos''.* IconicLogo: The band's "hooked cross" logo, which appears on all their album covers and most of their merchandise, derived from the alchemical symbol for Saturn. It's also the symbol for lead--a [[{{Pun}} heavy metal]].* IncrediblyLongNote: Eric Bloom on the last syllable of "risen" in the live performance of "Joan Crawford". As it's a live performance there's no wiggle room for post-production--what you hear is what he sang.** Also, Buck's final "she don't caaaaaaaaaaaaaare" at the end of "Teen Archer".* IKissYourFoot: A sardonic ([[FootFetish probably]]) example in "She's as Beautiful as a Foot".* IronicEcho: The band's collaboration with Music/PattiSmith, "The Revenge of Vera Gemini", is built around the ironic echo; Patti Smith's lines, coming in slightly behind Albert Bouchard's, are sardonic echoes that subtly twist the meaning.* IronicNurseryTune: The children's music box tune deployed as a linking theme between tracks on ''Secret Treaties''. Perhaps even the symbolism used in certain lyrics, such as the following from "Astronomy":-->''Come, Suzy dear, let's take a walk''-->''Just out there along the beach''-->''I know you'll soon be married''-->''And you'll want to know where winds come from...''** The nature of the innocent Suzy's relationship with her older nurse Carrie has oft been speculated upon. Les Yay...* {{Instrumentals}}: Not on record, but a concert staple of the original lineup was a jam section where Lanier and Albert Bouchard would don guitars, resulting in a [[UpToEleven five-man guitar solo]]. This most commonly occurred during "ME 262", but also sometimes on "Golden Age of Leather" or a cover of Music/TheDoors' "The Wasp (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)".** "Buck's Boogie" was a jamming instrumental which appeared on the live album ''On Your Feet or On Your Knees''.* {{Kaiju}}: [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} Take a wild guess...]]* LastNoteNightmare: The very faint, edge-of-hearing, last spoken line of "Black Blade".* LastOfHisKind: "Sole Survivor".* [[ViewersAreGeniuses Listeners Are Geniuses]]: Piecing together the MythArc (see below) requires paying attention to the subtlest allusions in the lyrics.** Sandy Pearlman actually described them as "The thinking man's heavy metal band."*** A lot of people called them that. This reputation is why they were critical darlings at a time when if a critic referred to any ''other'' band as playing heavy metal, it was intended as an insult.* LongRunner: These guys have managed to last long enough well into the TurnOfTheMillennium, with their last studio album released in 2001 and even then, they continue to do tours and concerts even today. That's pretty impressive for a band that started in the early 70s.* LongTitle: "The Siege and Investiture of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria".* LoopedLyrics:** "Seven seven seven seven" ''ad nauseam'' on "Les Invisibles" from ''Imaginos''.** "Carpe diem" in the background of "The Siege and Investiture of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria" from ''Imaginos''. The same song loops "world without end" throughout most of the last two or three minutes.** Also the repetition of the line "Lucifer the light" at the end of ''7 Screaming Diz-Busters''--this line repeats thirty-two times in succession. * LovesTheSoundOfScreaming: Doctor Music, your partner in the dance of death.* LuckyCharmsTitle: The fancy "Ö".* LyricalDissonance: "Harvester of Eyes", a bouncy, cheery song about...well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin someone/something that kills people and takes their eyes]]. Sandy Pearlman claimed he came up with the idea after hearing Supreme Court justice Abe Fortas talk about his ocular tuberculosis during his confirmation hearings.** A common trope with this band, given that so many of their lyrics are dark, and often in a tongue-in-cheek way. "Hot Rails to Hell" is another good ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin example--an up-tempo tune with surf guitar riffs and peppy vocals...about riding a subway train into Damnation.** Also the Buck Dharma solo track "All Tied Up", a sweet ballad with Music/{{Eagles}}-ish vocal harmonies. It turns out that the subject of the song is [[FridgeHorror not tied up as in ''busy'']], but as in Exactly What...oh, you know the drill by now.** "Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)" drops some very dark lyrics in a tone so casual that it sounds like a garden tour. Which it actually is, but regular gardens don't use the type of fertilizer that the narrator is freely referring to.** "Fallen Angel" and "Burning For You" sound like love songs. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin They aren't.]]** And of course "Golden Age of Leather" marries West Coast harmonies, surfer music and Beach Boys-style singing to the dark topic of old Hell's Angels going out with one last gang-bang of a ''wanton child, too dead to care, that each could find his pleasure as he might..." followed by a pitched battle to the death. * TheMenInBlack: Since so many of their songs are sci-fi oriented, this was bound to show up at least once. Most notable in the songs Take Me Away (even featured in its music video) and "E.T.I."** An example of [=MIB=] is shown on the album cover for ''Music/AgentsOfFortune'' [[AlbumTitleDrop (which was named after a lyric in "E.T.I.")]].* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Most off their harder-rocking songs hover around the 5-6 range, with a few (VERY few) going up to a borderline 7. They have a number of lighter songs as well though- for example, [[BlackSheepHit "Don't Fear the Reaper"]] is a 3 or a 4 (the only "heavy" part is in the solo section).* MotorcycleOnTheCoastRoad: ''Feel The Thunder'', ''Shadow of California''.* TheMuse: A whole cycle of songs are about, or feature, a girl called Suzie who appears to have had a potent effect on the songwriter's life. If Suzie was for real, then her depiction in ''The Marshall Plan'' as feckless groupie, or in ''Dominance and Submission'' as an accomplice to man-on-man rape, becomes an example of MuseAbuse.* MythArc: Most of their lyrics are part of a LovecraftianFiction-oriented mythology created by Sandy Pearlman, even those that don't appear to be at first glance.** The songs written for the band by Creator/MichaelMoorcock draw on Moorcock's own Eternal Champion mythos, particularly Literature/TheElricSaga. the Champion Eternal might dovetail quite neatly into the Immortal Desdinova, though. * NewMediaAreEvil: The laser-light shows the band used in their late '70s shows were the subject of a Congressional hearing into the potential health hazards of lasers.* NewSoundAlbum: ''Mirrors'' was almost pop-rock relative to the group's earlier albums, with the sentimental guitar ballad "In Thee" as its lead single, and the Cars-inspired "You're Not The One I Was Looking For". It didn't gel, and the band returned to heavy metal for ''Cultösaurus Erectus.''** Mostly that's due to the production, though--get past that and two-thirds of the album still counts as HardRock or Heavy Metal. On the other hand, ''Agents of Fortune'' comes closer--more than half of the album can't be called either.* NoEnding: Employed on "Flaming Telepaths" ** ''and the joke's on you...and the joke's on you...and the joke's on you...and the jo--'' * ObligatoryBondageSong: "Dominance and Submission".* OurVampiresAreDifferent: "Tattoo Vampire," "I Love the Night".* {{Parabombing}}: "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"; "Joan Crawford (Has Risen From The Grave)". * PerspectiveFlip: "Transmaniacon MC" tells the story of the infamous [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altamont_Free_Concert Altamont Free Concert]] from the perspective of the Hell's Angels. ''Workshop of the Telescopes'' the rise of modern of science from the point-of-view of an astrologer (whose discipline was discredited); "ME 262" is about the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII as perceived by a German fighter ace; and "Joan Crawford" is partially ''Literature/MommieDearest'' as perceived by ''[[ZombieApocalypse a zombified incarnation of the title actress]]''.* ProtestSong: "Divine Wind", a song attacking UsefulNotes/AyatollahKhomeini during the hostage crisis.** And it still worked for UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden after 9/11.* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: For the band's 40th anniversary show in November 2012, they brought back Albert and Joe Bouchard (left in 1981 and 1986 respectively), and Allen Lanier (left in 2007 due to health problems). This show ultimately ended up being the last-ever performance of the original five members due to Allen's death in August 2013.** Music/PattiSmith also rejoined the band for this gig. There is extant footage of her performing "Career of Evil" with the group. * RefugeInAudacity: There were so many hints of evil in their lyrics and Nazi images on their album covers that some writers began to suggest that they really were Nazis. This despite names like "Pearlman", "Bloom", and "Roeser" suggesting the sort of ethnicity that would be ''last'' to line up in support of the Nazis. Creator/MichaelMoorcock describes them as ''a bunch of nice Jewish boys from upstate New York''. YouHaveToHaveJews? * ReligionRantSong: "Divine Wind" is a pop at militant extremist Islam. ** "Unknown Tongues" is a slap at religious mania, the Catholic sort especially. * RepurposedPopSong: Shiny Toy Guns did a cover of "Burnin' For You" for a commercial for the 2010 Lincoln MKS. * RhymingWithItself:** The final verse of the otherwise sublime "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" does this...--->''Came the last night of sadness, and it was clear she couldn't go on;''--->''And the door burst open and a wind appeared''--->''The candle blew and then disappeared''--->''The curtains flew and then He appeared''--->''(Sayin', "Don't be afraid")''** "Joan Crawford":--->''Catholic schoolgirls have thrown away their mascara''--->''They've chained themselves to the axles of big Mack trucks''--->''The sky is filled with hurt and shivering angels''--->''The fat lady lives, children, start your trucks''* RockOpera: ''Imaginos'', a ''fragment'' of the above MythArc, tells the story of a 19th-century adventurer imbued with magic powers by aliens, and whose efforts prove to be the cause of World War I.* RockStarSong: "The Marshall Plan".* SanitySlippageSong: "Veteran of the Psychic Wars".* SelfTitledAlbum: Their debut.* ShellShockedVeteran: "Veteran of the Psychic Wars".* ShoutOut:** The opening of "Burnin' For You" is an allusion to the lyrics at the beginning of Part Four, Chapter 2 of Creator/JackKerouac's ''Literature/OnTheRoad''.** Both "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)" and "The Old Gods Return" refer to the Franchise/CthulhuMythos. "E.T.I." also refers to Mythos precursor ''Literature/TheKingInYellow''.** "Franchise/{{Godzilla}}", of course.** The song "The Revenge of Vera Gemini" namechecks Patti Smith's ''Music/{{Horses}}'' album.** It also inspired the whole "Vera Gemini" story arc in Creator/MarvelComics' ''ComicBook/TheDefenders'', published some years after the song. * SiameseTwinSongs: Nearly all of ''Secret Treaties''.* SleepsWithEveryoneButYou: "Eyes On Fire":-->''At the stroke of midnight, staring at the phone'''-->''For the millionth time I'm all alone''-->''I'm the guy she turns to, when her lovers leave''-->''I'm the wild card she's got up her sleeve''-->''But she don't look at me with''-->''Eyes on fire, glowing like coals in the night''-->''Hungry eyes, burning with love and desire...''* SoulCuttingBlade: [[Creator/MichaelMoorcock Stormbringer]], the ''Black Blade''.* StageNames: Sandy Pearlman envisioned the band having stage names and wrote some up, but Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser was the only taker.* StopAndGo: "Career of Evil".* SubduedSection: Several of their songs have this- "Career of Evil" and 'The Vigil are two notable examples. "Career of Evil" has a LONG, jam-like one in the middle, while "The Vigil" has one just before its guitar solo that's more-or-less a repeat of the intro.* TalkingWeapon: "Black Blade".* ThatsAllFolks: "Shooting Shark" ends with, "First time round is the last time round; I have nothing else to say."* TogetherInDeath: "(Don't Fear) The Reaper".* TownWithADarkSecret: The setting of "Harvest Moon", which is about a small town whose first European settlers burned their colony to the ground for [[EldritchAbomination some reason]] and where children routinely disappear in the winter only to show up dead in the spring.* TransAtlanticEquivalent: The band's style, lyrical content and perceived preoccupations were equated to those of Birmingham's most notorious Satanists, Music/BlackSabbath. Aware that musical critics were directly comparing both bands, their managements bundled them together on a joint tour, dubbed ''The Black And Blue Tour''. It was never repeated. After BÖC started to record Creator/MichaelMoorcock songs, they attracted the label from British fans of ''America's Music/{{Hawkwind}}''. Indeed, the live version of the Moorcock-penned "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" has an eerie Hawkwind-like quality to it. * TraumaSwing: The video for "Joan Crawford (Has Risen from the Grave)" uses imagery derived from Christina Crawford's autobiography about living with her allegedly psychotic mother, ''Literature/MommieDearest''. The video ends on a teenage girl playing the Christina role, sitting crying and despondent by the swimming pool; the scene is shot in muted washed-out light with autumn leaves swirling around and landing in the water, conveying the idea that summer is gone, it is cold, she is alone, innocence is dead; symbolic of emotional and physical abuse: this visual image conveys exactly the mood of the Trauma Swing using a different analogy.* VillainProtagonist: The setup for "Then Came the Last Days of May" is a cross-border drug transaction, allegedly based on a true story.** The title character of "Dr. Music" is a sadist who gets off by torturing his unwilling captives.** "Showtime" is about a convict who's counting down the days until his release so he can hunt down and get revenge on his girlfriend who put him away and the man she's now with.* VillainSong: Several--see PerspectiveFlip and LyricalDissonance above--but "Career of Evil" could easily be the poster song for the trope.* WordSaladLyrics: Lots of them.----